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Here are the New England restaurants and chefs named James Beard semifinalists in 2025
"We are part of the fabric of the neighborhood."
Greater Boston and Massachusetts restaurants are storming the elusive James Beard Awards in 2025, with standout performances across the list that was released Wednesday.
For Cambridge chef Erin Miller, a Cambridge chef focused on farm-to-table cooking at Urban Hearth, the honor of becoming a James Beard Award semifinalist in the category of Best Chef of the Northeast is “phenomenal.”
“I haven’t wanted for much since I have been focused on building the business and trying to keep my team employed,” Miller told Boston.com.
Including Miller, there are seven Massachusetts chefs in the running for Best Chef in the Northeast.
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“There’s kind of an intimacy that we can achieve in our hospitality, the dining experience as a whole, that maybe bigger cities don’t have as much,” said Miller. “We are part of the fabric of the neighborhood.”
The Restaurant and Chef Award nominees will be announced on April 2 and winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on June 16 in Chicago, according to the James Beard Foundation.
New England restaurants and chefs are represented across nearly every category. Below, find a list of the 2025 semifinalists in New England.
Outstanding Restaurateur
Massachusetts:
Douglass Williams, Mida, Boston
Vermont:
Cara Chigazola-Tobin and Allison Gibson, Honey Road and The Gray Jay, Burlington
Outstanding Chef
Massachusetts:
Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville
Outstanding Restaurant
Maine:
Havana, Bar Harbor
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Rhode Island:
Oberlin, Providence
Emerging Chef
Maine:
Jason Eckerson and Kate Hamm, Fish & Whistle, Biddeford
Rhode Island:
Nikhil Naiker, NIMKI, Providence
Best New Restaurant
Massachusetts:
LUNE, Dennis Port
Somaek, Boston
Outstanding Bakery
New Hampshire:
Super Secret Ice Cream, Bethlehem
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Maine:
Brant Dadaleares, Gross Confection Bar, Portland
Outstanding Hospitality
Rhode Island:
Persimmon, Providence
Maine:
Taj Indian Cuisine, South Portland
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Connecticut:
Oyster Club, Mystic
Outstanding Bar
Vermont:
Wolf Tree, White River Junction
Best New Bar
Massachusetts:
Equal Measure, Boston
Merai, Brookline
Maine:
The Abbey, Brunswick
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
Massachusetts:
Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale, The Koji Club, Brighton
Maine:
Mary Allen Lindemann, Coffee By Design, Portland
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
Massachusetts:
Oscar Simoza, The Wig Shop, Boston
Maine:
Nathaniel Meiklejohn, The Jewel Box, Portland
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
- Robert Andreozzi, Pizza Marvin, Providence, RI
- Avery Buck, May Day, Burlington, VT
- John DaSilva, Chickadee, Boston, MA
- Conor Dennehy, Tallula, Cambridge, MA
- Subat Dilmurat, Jahunger, Providence, RI
- Lee Frank, Lee Frank’s, South Berwick, ME
- Michelle Greenfield, Allium Eatery, Westport, CT
- Sky Haneul Kim, Gift Horse, Providence, RI
- Valentine Howell, Black Cat, Jamaica Plain, MA
- Kwasi Kwaa, Comfort Kitchen, Boston, MA
- Brian Lewis, The Cottage, Westport, CT
- Charlie Menard, Canteen Creemee, Waitsfield, VT
- Rachel Miller, Nightshade Noodle Bar, Lynn, MA
- Erin Miller, Urban Hearth, Cambridge, MA
- Nicole Nocella, Stalk, Dover, NH
- Nick Rabar, Honeybird Kitchen & Cocktails, East Providence, RI
- Jordan Rubin, Mr. Tuna, Portland, ME
- Michael Serpa, Select Oyster, Boston, MA
- Jake Stevens, Leeward, Portland, ME
- Derek Wagner, Nicks on Broadway, Providence
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